IRR warns road authority on licence threat

15 March 2021

The IRR has warned the South African National Road Agency (Sanral) of the consequences of its reported threat to obstruct the vehicle licence renewal of motorists with outstanding e-toll debts.

In a letter delivered to Sanral today, the IRR points out that such threats are a form of citizen abuse, and stand to cause economic disruption, undermine South Africa’s prospects for recovery, and place an even greater tax burden on distressed households and businesses.

The warning follows the launch last week of the IRR’s #StopCitizenAbuse campaign (https://irr.org.za/campaigns/stop-citizen-abuse) aimed at highlighting and building resistance against abuses ranging from threats and intimidation of citizens to corruption, the abuse of taxpayer funds and the erosion of civil liberties.

IRR research shows the tax burden on South Africans has risen to the highest levels in the history of the country and that many families pay more than half their income towards tax levies and secondary and tertiary taxes.

The IRR warns that a large proportion of households have reached a point of crisis, with many no longer able to afford basic services, foodstuffs and school fees, or to settle their debts.

Instead of seeking to extract even more money from households, the government must move towards introducing structural reforms, and remove corrupt officials from the public service and prosecute them and their enablers in the private sector. 

Motorists who are denied their vehicle licences because of outstanding e-toll debts should reach out to the IRR so that we can use the information to put pressure on the Presidency and on politicians to intervene and stop such abuse of citizens.

Issued by Amy-Claire Morton, IRR Content Producer, 15 March 2021